


Remember Me

by nosedive



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2018-10-22 12:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10697118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nosedive/pseuds/nosedive
Summary: someone’s face always pops up baekhyun’s mind. he’s bever seen him before, never had an encounter with him, but somehow his face seems to always pop up. the man had a kind smile and sad eyes, black suit and a blue trench coat, and a soothing honey-like voice that repeats a phrase every single time baekhyun sees him in his dreams, “remember me.”





	1. one ;

_there he is again, at the back of my mind,_ baekhyun thought as he snapped back to reality. the man won’t ever leave his head. he felt some sort of attachment to him, a feeling of despair, an inkling of familiarity that somehow, he knew him and that their story was not meant to be happy; because in the end, it was not meant to last so long. he hated living with the feeling that he’s forgotten someone he feels so much attachment to, nonetheless, baekhyun tries to keep the man where he belongs; lost at the back of his mind.

he stood up from his seat, shoving all his things inside his backpack and leaving the library. the day was engulfed in sunlight, the atmosphere welcoming and homey, bringing a smile on baekhyun’s tired face. writing isn’t as easy as it once was; the ideas can’t seem to register on baekhyun’s head, which meant he can’t convert them into something worth reading. he missed the days where writing wasn’t something he stressed about completely, rather something to take him out of the stress he always felt. now he felt like a plant withering with the lack of water it needs to survive. how many books does he need to read for his slump to go away? how many sleepless nights does he have to endure just so he can write properly again? he hated not having a clue on what he has to do to get rid of painful downhill he’s at.

baekhyun didn’t realize he was already at his front door until he hit his head on it.

as he rubbed his forehead to relieve the pain he opened his front door and headed for the kitchen to get ice. _great, now i probably have a bump on my head,_ baekhyun thought miserably _why not just end my life goddammit?_ he sighed and walked to the movie room. there, he saw his roommates watching a drama. chanyeol was the one to notice him first.

“baEKHYUNIE! HOW WAS YOUR DAY AT THE LIBRARY?” exclaimed chanyeol as he rushed to where the smaller man was standing to engulf him in a hug. baekhyun could definitely smell whiskey reeking out of the taller fellow.

“can you please stop drinking in the house?” baekhyun said when they broke apart. he walked to where junmyeon was sitting and took the shot glass out of his grasp. “i understand you drinking, hyung, break-ups are hard but please stop dragging yeol into it as well. you know how fucked he gets when he drinks.”

junmyeon gave him a venomous glare and took the whiskey bottle to drink out of there. baekhyun watched helplessly as the elder chugged the whiskey and choking on it a few seconds later. baekhyun then took the whiskey bottle out of junmyeon’s hands and got the drunk men to go sleep. “it’s noon for fuck’s sake at least wait until the sun goes down.”

he loved both of them to death but they make him go insane most of the time. to be completely honest with himself he doesn’t even need roommates, financially he can pay for all the expenses he needs to pay while still doing everything he wants to do. but he needed human contact. he can’t lock himself in a huge house with no one to accompany him because as much as he wants some peace and quiet while writing he also wanted friends who would support him while he did what he loved most. _maybe that’s why i’m having such a slump, maybe it’s because i don’t have that support system i need right now,_ baekhyun pondered, _why did yifan have to leave junmyeon like that, now i can’t write what i want because my main supporter is down._ he had to hit himself when he thought that. its nobody’s fault. yifan and junmyeon can’t handle a long distance relationship, besides, he can’t blame his friends for not making him the centre of their lives when they have their own problems too.

baekhyun decided making lunch would be the best thing to clear his head so he headed to the kitchen to start cooking for the three of them. usually, it's junmyeon who does these things but he's been so down lately baekhyun couldn't let himself be dependent on him at this moment. junmyeon needed a hand to hold, and beakhyun will be that for him just as he was to him.

he cooked three new york strip steaks medium rare with roasted potatoes on the side. he brought the plates to junmyeon's room where he saw chanyeol and junmyeon on the bed, fast asleep.

"hey, both of you, i made steak," baekhyun shook them awake. "it might lose all its juices if you make it wait any longer."

grudgingly, junmyeon sat up and rubbed his eyes. baekhyun helped him up and led him to the study table junmyeon had in his room. after a few seconds, chanyeol followed behind. they ate their food silently, with an occasional moan of satisfaction from chanyeol. once finished, baekhyun took the dirty plates and headed for the kitchen to clean them up. before he got out of the room though, he heard a small "thank you, baekhyun-ah" from junmyeon causing him so smile fondly at himself.

"it's nothing, hyung."

~

it was now midnight and baekhyun had convinced junmyeon to sleep. chanyeol visited jongin who lived a few minutes away so baekhyun was alone in his thoughts again. he needed to think of an idea. not only is he getting desperate, he also had a deadline to meet. that deadline is in a month. how is he going to create a draft in a month, he had no idea, but he needed to fucking try. but his fingers weren't moving. his mind was as blank as the screen before him. he was merely staring at the screen hoping maybe a story will suddenly pop onto his head. irritation filled his gut as he forcefully threw the laptop away from him, breaking it in the process. he needed sleep, that's it. he just needed to rest his head and sleep.

and so he did.

~

baekhyun was wearing a joseon mail plate. he had a sword and his whole being was dirty. chaos was all around him with shouts of fallen soldiers, shouts of anger, hopelessness, and a cry of fear.

he was in a middle of a battle.

the moment it dawned on him his head started to feel hot, as if it were to combust in a minute, his breath started hitching, he nearly dropped the sword, and he nearly got sliced in half if not for somebody pushing him away from the enemy’s blade. baekhyun laid on the bloody ground, his back behind the chaos, his eyes starting to sting with hot tears protruding down his face. then he felt someone hoist him up gently, helping him get back on his feet and as he found his balance, he opened his eyes to see an empty meadow with flowers blooming everywhere. he was still in the joseon mail plate but he was cleaner, his sword no longer in his grasp, blood no longer splattered all over his hands.

baekhyun wiped the tears from his face as he basked in the beauty of the meadow, he almost forgot there was another person there with him until he heard another voice.

“baekhyun-ah,” the voice was echoed trough the whole meadow, honey-like, smooth, and comforting. “turn around.”

and baekhyun did. he faced the person behind him and saw the man he always saw in his mind. the man was wearing a hanbok, his smile inviting, with a dimple in his right cheek. he was approximately 5’10 or above with soft features. his eyes were brown with a hint of gold when it touched the rays of the sun and his skin was clear and glowing. he began to speak once more.

“i don’t really feel like i fit wearing a hanbok when i’m not even korean,” the man said, laughing softly. he looked at baekhyun with a sort of longing. like he wanted baekhyun to know him. and baekhyun did feel like he knew him; by emotions but not by memory.

slowly, baekhyun replied back. “what should you be wearing then?”

“well obviously something from the ming dynasty, but of course venturing into a new country would mean i have to be part of the culture too.” he smiled again, giving baekhyun a small wink. baekhyun wished he was sliced in half by the enemy, his face was flushed and the only thing that cam out of his mouth was “ahhangahsla”

but baekhyun knew he was better than this so he composed himself and replied, “so what would a chinese man be doing in joseon korea?”

“simple,” the man said, moving closer to him. “because of you.”

~

baekhyun woke up, cold sweat covering his whole face and body. this was the first time in twenty years that he got to actually speak with the man in his mind. he only ever saw him smiling at him fondly, his dimples showing, his eyes showing a sad truth. he seemed like a god to baekhyun, with his features sculpted perfectly. but now, speaking to him, he seemed more human and more reachable.

his chest hurting, baekhyun made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. he still didn’t have a story to wirte, and another day will go by without him doing anything to fix that.

that was when he shot up and ran to his work room again, not caring about breaking his glass of water. he’s been so stupid not to think of that idea. it’s been floating around his head for over twenty years. he’s been floating around his head for over twenty years. it’s insane how he never thought of writing about the man he sees every time he closes his eyes. the man with a kind smile and sad eyes. the man he’s determined to know the name of. the man he would die to meet in this world. he took another laptop from his bedroom and set on his desk. he opened it and placed his fingers on the keyboard and sighed.

finally.


	2. two ;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is extremely short huhuhu don't worry though, it will get better in the next ones.

"finally got out of your slump?" chanyeol asked the next day when he saw baekhyun typing in the dining room. baekhyun nodded vigorously, biting a piece of bread and continued typing. "would you want to tell me what it's about?"

baekhyun shook his head no then laughed jokingly. chanyeol pouted jokingly and walked behind him to see what he was writing.

"joseon dynasty?" chanyeol asked, "you're going to write something historical?"

baekhyun nodded earnestly. chanyeol rested his head on baekhyun's shoulder as he continued reading whatever baekhyun was writing. it wasn't hard for him to do that, baekhyun was sitted in a tall stool that made his feet sway and not touch the ground.

"how is jongin?" baekhyun asked when he felt his eyes sting from staring at the screen for too long. he stopped writing, saving his work and closing his laptop. "and the others?"

baekhyun felt chanyeol heat up. "he's okay, looking good, looking hot, i mean looking- looking...okay."

baekhyun looked at him and smirked as he saw chanyeol's cheeks burning.

"and the others?"

"i didn't see them last night, i only saw jongin," chanyeol said, sitting next to him and eating part of baekhyun's bread. "but i miss them, so let's invite them tonight."

"i have to write," baekhyun reasoned, taking the breas out of chanyeol's hands. "i have like a month to finish this draft and i'm not even done with half of it."

"fucking obviously you haven't finished half of it, didn't you just start last night?" chanyeol puffed, "junmyeon might want to have more company..."

baekhyun glared at chanyeol, "don't use junmyeon to convince me, yeol you coldhearted bastard, but fine, invite them for junmyeon. i do miss them too."

"love you, baek," chanyeol said, kisssing the top of his head. "it's gonna be so li-"

"no drinking."

"you headass."

"love you too, yeol."

~

"so are we all here?" minseok asked the bunch. it was now the afternoon and all 8 of them were seated on the comfortable chairs of the movie room.

"no we're not, luhan, tao, and yifan's not here," kyungsoo said absentmindedly, then immediately regretted it. junmyeon started making sounds a beaten kitten would make. chanyeol immediately ran to his side.

"heyy myeonie hyung, let's not cry today, let's just have fun okay? look jongdae is here and minseok hyung and jongin-ah and sehunie, he might not be here right now but there are a lot more people who are here with you right now," chanyeol said, rocking junmyeon back and forth, his legs wrapped around junmyeon.

everyone else decided the best thing to do was to go up to junmyeon and hug him too. within seconds, the room was filled with reassurances and promises to never leave one another.

afterwards they proceeded with the film. everyone was cuddled with each other, making baekhyun feel warm and relaxed. it has been quite a while since he has hung out with his friends like this and though they were not complete, it still felt nice to be in the company of the people he loved the most. in the middle of the film, baekhyun passed out because of his tiredness and lack of sleep because of writing all through the night.

~

"i don't understand why you would be an author in this life when in your past life you were a soldier," the voice rang in baekhyun's ears causing him to look for where the voice came from. then he stopped. he expected to be in modern clothing and a modern place but this was anything but that. he wore a white long sleeved button up shirt and leather brown suspenders with a light brown trousers. where he was in he knew it was clearly from the 40's. the street was dim, only a small amount of light coming from a lamp post ten feet away from him. at the end of the street he could see the man from his dreams in the same type of clothing only, he pulled it off better. his hair was down, wavy and messy in a good sort of fashion, his hands in his pocket, smiling at him with his dimpled smile. baekhyun couldn't stop his body from running towards the man and engulfing him to a tight hug. he felt tears fall in his eyes as if this man and him have been reunited. who knows, this was probably a reunion, baekhyun just doesn't remember.

the man's arms were wrapped around him protectively, his right arm caressing baekhyun's head.

"baekhyun-ah i missed you, he said softly and baekhyun's heart broke. he didn't know who this man was but all he knew was that he would die if he was ever out of his grasp.

"you waited for me, yixing," baekhyun's words came out of his mouth without him thinking about it. yixing? is that the man's name? most likely.

"and you remembered me, baek," yixing broke the hug and looked at baekhyun with his sad eyes, "you remembered."

~

baekhyun was shaken awake by sehun once the film has ended.

"hyung, kyungsoo said he was going to cook for us lets go," sehun looked giddy and excited as he pulled baekhyun out of the chair to the kitchen, where everyone was at. kyungsoo was smiling lightly as he prepared the ingredients. everyone was talking with one another. baekhyun sat next to jongdae and minseok, staring fondly at his friends.

more than that, he thought about the dream he had and the man--yixing. how did baekhyun know his name? why did he feel contented and happy in his arms? and what did yixing mean by "you remembered me"? he wanted to convince himself theat maybe he just made up yixing in his head. his imagination must be running wild that's why he imagined him i the joseon era and the japanese war era. but then why did it only come now? he's been seeing this man in his head since he was 10 years old, and this was the first time he saw him in the joseon era or the japanese revolution. and why does he have an inkling that this--he--isn't actually a dream?

"BAEKHYUN," minseok screamed at his face. baekhyun looked dumbfounded and mildly violated. "do you want to go with us to the grocery store? kyungsoo is missing a few ingredients and he wants us to buy them."  
baekhyun nodded and stood up. he walked alongside minseok and jongdae as they headed out to the shop.

~

"why is kyungsoo so picky when it comes to ingredients, goddammit?" minseok said as he looked at the list again. "what does he want us to do? go to a farmer's market? where do find one in the fucking city?"

"let him be hyung, at least the food is phenomenal," jongdae reasoned. they were trying to find the best quality beef they can in a shitty grocery. they can technically go to a better store but they were too lazy for that. baekhyun wasn't even helping, he was just staring in space, trying to think of how to continue his novel. he didn't feel the presence of another person there until he was right in front of him.

"hey can you please move? i want the packet behind you," the stranger smiled at him and baekhyun instantly moved away. he kept looking at the stranger who was getting ridiculous amounts of ramen packets. he knows this guys from somewhere...

"baekhyun-ah if you won't help at least pay attention to us!" jongdae slapped his shoulder. "it's like having a pet cat."

he ignored jongdae and continued staring at the man who seemed to be ignoring him. his hair was down, wavy and soft, he was wearing round specs and a mask beneath his chin. his outfit was simple; a pink cotton sweater that was quite long on him and ripped jeans along wih white vans. he was he sort of looked like a trainee or even a real idol. finally, he looked at baekhyun and smiled lightly showing of his deep right dimple. he has such sad eyes, yet his smile seemed to make baekhyun so happy.

oh shit, baekhyun thought when it finally hit him. this is --

"yixing." baekhyun breathed out, looking at him with tears forming in his eyes. yixing looked at him with surprise, then happiness.

"baekhyunnie," yixing said. "you remembered."

 


	3. three ;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! so this chapter is in yixing's pov and its quite longer than the previous two chapters! i quite like this one and i hope you do too!

yixing had been living since the sui dynasty. he’s seen the people he loved die and sometimes even come across them in their new, reincarnated life. but he never wanted to get involved with them anymore. mostly because it’s rare to have the same face, the same name, and the same attitudes once you reincarnate. also because he can’t keep living in the past. he had to move on, meet other people, take care of other people and not get caught up thinking about the people he’s lost. all the emotions and the pain of losing those people would eat him inside and he would be left to only exist. with an ache in his heart and no will to move on.

but he could never move on from byun baekhyun. same face, same name, different stories. a soldier in the joseon dynasty, a rebel author in the 1930’s japanese rule, and now a world-renowned writer. he was quite surprised when he saw baekhyun as a writer in his second life, but then remembered the number of times baekhyun stayed awake, writing about their relationship during the joseon era “to preserve our love.” he remembered those nights now, as he laid in his bed, the friction of two hot bodies pressed tightly to each other fearing separation. the sloppy kisses and the moaning and the heated "i love you's" the laughing and the giggling and the promises of always being together. baekhyun resting his head on yixing's chest singing a soft lullaby while yixing stroked his hair. he remembered the words exchanged before them.

"i love you, baekhyun," whispered yixing one night. baekhyun's head rose from yixing's chest to look at him, kissing his lips softly.

"i love you too," baekhyun said resting his head back to where it was before. "we have forever to love each other."

such sentence would usually make yixing laugh. mortals always made comments about forever and a love that will last not thinking about the fact that they will die one day, presumably, alone. but when baekhyun said it, it sparked a lonely feeling all over his body. he wanted to say that no, they don't have forever, they have a lifetime. baekhyun's lifetime. and when that lifetime is over yixing's heart would break, as it did with every death he has seen, but he would have to pick up the pieces and move on. but he couldn't say that to baekhyun. he couldn't say it because he didn't want it to be true. he wanted to be with him forever too. wanted to love him and cherish him and give him everything he deserves. one lifetime wouldn't be enough to give him the whole universe.

some other years after their meeting, when baekhyun became an old man and yixing stayed the same way, yixing remembered the words they said to each other on baekhyun’s deathbed.

"when i die, i'm going to ask the deity to never make me forget. i don't want to forget you." baekhyun said, his voice rough, weak, yet full of determination. "i would gladly remember all the deaths i have seen in this lifetime if it meant that i would remember you too."

yixing couldn't hold back the sob that was forming when baekhyun said that. he was now the one on baekhyun's chest, his tears making baekhyun's clothing wet. baekhyun tenderly stroking his hair humming the same lullaby he always did, now more softly as if he was trying to save his last breath.

"yixing-ah look at me," he said and yixing complied. raising his head to look at baekhyun with blurry eyes filled with tears. baekhyun was gliding his fingers all over yixing's face; his jaw, his nose, his mouth, his eyes, ears, hair. "you still look so beautiful, i wonder why you would still be with me after you've seen me wrinkled and weak but i'm so grateful you are."

"i promised you forever, and i will give you that forever," yixing said in between sobs.

baekhyun smiled softly, if he had any strength he would've laughed but he doesn't, and he doesn't have enough time.

"我愛你"

"我也愛你"

and with that, baekhyun left his first life.

~

yixing tumbled out of bed to get himself a glass of water. he hated thinking about baekhyun's past lives because it always lead him to think about how he died and the last moment of his life. not only that but yixing has been waiting for baekhyun patiently and that patience he has is running very low. does baekhyun even remember him? does he still want to see him? are the feelings still there? he had no idea what happens to a person after dying so he doesn't know what happens when a person reincarnates into the third life.

he does know one thing though, a person can only have three reincarnations and if they're good in all those three lives, they would reach nirvana. personally, yixing could give two shits about nirvana because he would never reach it. he can't die and if he can die, would he have the same reincarnation or will he be stuck in a dark void forever reliving the memories that pained him the most. what he cared about was the fact that he will never see baekhyun again after this life. he would be left with a broken heart, like always, but this time there would not be another lifetime to spend with the one person he loved the most.

he needed to live through it. he needed to move on from byun baekhyun.

yixing slammed the glass onto his counter top in exasperation. he was breathing heavily and his face was full of tears. he needed to be part of baekhyun's last reincarnation.

that was when he decided to buy ramen packets.

~

the grocery store was quite far from his house, but then again he did live 30 minutes away from the city. nonetheless, his night would always consist of going there to buy things he randomly craved at night. sure he can just wave his hands for something he wanted to appear but at night he felt as if he needed to get out of the lonely house he called home.

he got out of his car and walked into the store. he quickly searched for the ramen that he wanted and found something more that he could ever dream of.

right in front of him was byun baekhyun.

leaning on the ramen packets he wanted.

yixing felt his breath hitch, surprised by the person in front of him. he didn't even prepare for their meeting.

he's always imagined it. he would be wearing an expensive suit, shades, his hair done. then they would meet at a coffee shop where beakhyun, who was looking as beautiful as ever, would smile at him and remember who he was. the world renowned writer and the current CEO of the entertainment company in both china and korea. people would see how well they got along and people would start making rumors about them and after months of reconnecting with each other to make up for the lost times they would come out and express their deep love for each other.

he didn't expect to see him while he was wearing his two day old sweater and disgusting jeans and vans, his hair looking sappy and oily. baekhyun of course still looks like a god but why does he have to look so disgusting now?

nevertheless, yixing took a deep breath and walked to where baekhyun was standing. he took a deep breath.

"hey can you please move? i want that packet behind you," yixing said casually and regretted it. he should've been more formal. it's okay though, baekhyun looked at him and moved instantly, not even batting an eye. yixing started taking ridiculous amounts of ramen hoping to bury himself in the pile of ramen in his hands. he could feel his eyes on him, staring at him intently, maybe with confusion or realisation, yixing doesn't know so he decided to look at baekhyun and smile.

baekhyun looked like he saw a ghost.

"yixing," his voice was barely a whisper but for a man who's waited for nearly 80 years to hear that voice again, it was the loudest sound. baekhyun had tears forming in his eyes, an expression of a lost puppy.

"baekhyunnie," yixing said smiling wider. "you remembered."

~

yixing was now at baekhyun's house, it was more like a mansion if he were to be honest, with seven men looking at him with curiousity. the other was one was cooking, not giving two shits about yixing.

it was quite weird how yixing got here. after a few moments of looking at each other, yixing filled with happiness and baekhyun crying silently, yixing finally spoke up.

"are you...okay?" yixing was happy to see him but baekhyun was crying. and it didn’t look like happy tears at all. yixing moved closer to him and wiped the tears away, whispering comforting phrases to make baekhyun feel better. baekhyun didn’t back away and let him do these things, looking as if he was trying really hard to stop crying.

“uhh…baek who is this guy?” baekhyun looked at the man behind yixing, then back to yixing. the man had golden brown hair, and quite a beautiful scultped face. the person next to him had black hair and high cheekbones, a mouth curved into a frown, both men has their eyebrows nitted together in confusion. baekhyun tryied to compose himself by breathing in and out before speaking.

“this is zhang yixing,” baekhyun said. yixing dropped his hands out of baekhyun’s face to face the two men and bow a hello.

“did you say zhang yixing?” said the guy with high cheekbones, “isn’t that the guy who owns that entertainment company along with sm entertainment? i didn’t expect him to be so young.”

“shut it, jongdae, he might not even be that man, probably just has the same name,” the man beside him said. he then looked at yixing. “are you that guy? are you just scamming my friend? are you the real deal?”

yixing stammered for an answer. “i-uh—yeah i actually—um—i have a card—“ he took out his wallet and looked for his business card and when he found it he quickly showed it to the guy, “i’m ‘the real deal’.” he said making air quotes.

“well, we have to invite you now,” the guy said after reading his business card and handing it back to him. “i wanna know more about you and why you made my friend cry in the middle of a shitty grocery store. buy your disgusting amounts of ramen packets and see us outside.”

“HYUNG!” baekhyun and jongdae both had looks of dissaproval with what the elder just said. baekhyun was now standing beside yixing the floor beneath them filled with the ramen packets he let fall after seeing a distraught baekhyun.

“i—um—okay.” yixing bent over to pick up the packets silently, and when he got all of them he silently made his way to the counter while the other three left to wait outside with the items they’ve already bought. yixing isn’t sure when the two men with baekhyun paid for those things; maybe when baekhyun and yixing were staring at each other helplessly. once he was finished, he walked out of the store to find the three men seated in a white porsche, pressumably baekhyun’s. the window for the passenger’s side down, showing the eldest among the bunch.

“do you have a car or are you going to ride with us?” he asked and he received a smack in the head by someone in the back seat, along with a whine.

“he probably does, hyung stop embarrassing him you’re embarrassing us!”

“you should never trust people quickly, kim jongdae! how will you survive?” he exclaimed, then glared at yixing. “get in your car and follow us.”

yixing silently followed the rules given to him and walked to his black mercedes just behind their car.

and with that, they were off.

now he was at baekhyun’s house and was awaiting judgement. seated at the dining table at the very end of the table with all the other boys looking at him.

the eldest, minseok as he introduced himself, asked the first question. “how do you know baekhyun?”

“he’s a world renowned writer and i’m a big fan of his works,” yixing lied effortlessly. well technically, it’s not a lie, yixing is quite fond of baekhyun’s books.

“why did baekhyun cry when he saw you?” questioned the youngest, sehun. yixing shrugged nonchalantly, obviously not knowing the answer.

“i don’t know either,” he said. everyone looked at baekhyun after that. baekhyun took a deep breath and answered the question with, as yixing guessed, a lie.

“zhang yixing is quite a good writer too, and when i read his autobiography i was brought to tears. seeing him at the grocery store brought all those memories of the book back,” baekhyun explained. everyone thought it was a convincing enough answer so they went back to questioning yixing, now not about his connection to baekhyun but something completely different but rather predictable to say the least.

it was the tallest one who spoke.

“how do you get signed in your entertainment?”

yixing was about to answer but he was cut off by the other members throwing violent words towards the tallest member, chanyeol. yixing smiled lightly at their friendship. all the commotion was put to an end when they smelled the food getting nearer to them. everyone looked to the chef, named kyungsoo, with hunger present in their eyes. once the food was in the table, they all dug in, enjoying the food, and the company of each other. they were laughing and talking and joking around; except for a pair of people—yixing and baekhyun. they were just staring at each other with longing; yixing still confused on whether or not baekhyun remembered him and baekhyun trying his best to remember the man with sad eyes and how he is important in his life. 


	4. four ;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kind of a filler tbh :/ but never fear next chapter has a lot more things going on.
> 
> also a warning i guess? this does have chankai in it and if you're not fond of that ship well...i don't think you would enjoy it as much.

everyone decided to sleep over that night. baekhyun was grateful for the company. all eight of them would be toge--

"hey yixing you should sleep over too," suggested chanyeol, smiling at him like a child. "i'm sure baekhyun wouldn't mind since he's apparently a big fan of you."

_fuck you park chanyeol,_ baekhyun wanted to scream. he knows jackshit about yixing other than the fact that he keeps appearing in his dreams anf mind all the time. he didn't even know he owned a studio and is sighed with sm until baekhyun did a quick google search to think of a lie to say to the questions he anticipated from his friends.

"oh no, it's okay, i have to go somewhere tomorrow and i can't miss it," yixing said apologeticly, smiling slightly. "thank you for the offer." he said, bowing in gratitude.

"um i'll walk you to your car," baekhyun said without thinking. everyone looked at him suspicously, then shrugged it off. yixing nodded and smiled. with that they walked out baekhyun's home. tension wass in the air as both men had words they couldn't express pent up in their throats. their walking was stiff and awkward and they were hardly looked at each other. finally though, yixing decided to speak up.

"i don't actually think you remember me," he said softly, looking at baekhyun. baekhyun looked at him too and saw the face he's always seen in his mind, the man with sad eyes and caring smile.

"i'm sorry," baekhyun said. "i do know your face though, i've seen you in my dreams and at the back of my mind for years. i just...now that i know you're a famous person that would mean i've seen you somewhere when i was young and remembered you through the years but that's highly unlikely."

"don't stress yourself out knowing, baekhyun," yixing said softly still smiling even though his eyes look so distraught and broken. "if you do want to know you can always call me."

"how? i don't even know your number," baekhyun said, then took out his phone and opened it, "can you put your number he--" when baekhyun looked away from his phone again he saw that he was alone. yixing and his car was gone in snap. he didn't even here the car door opening or the engine turning on, not even a farewell. just gone in a blink of an eye.

baekhyun was looking around like a lost puppy when his phone vibrated in his hand. he looked at the notification and saw a message from an unknown number. he opened it and read the message:

_hey its yixing!_

_sorry for disappearing so quickly somebody needed my help, but this is my number and you can contact me anytime! also, i got your number from chanyeol who gave it to me in exchange of a change to be a producer for my company. he looks quite talented if i do say so myself._

_goodnight! :)_

he really wanted to kill park chanyeol. but before doing that, he saved yixing's number. baekhyun tried to calm himself down before going inside. he tried to review everything that just happened; he met the man he's been dreaming about, who he somehow has a past with, he got to talk to him and had dinner with him, he disappeared like a ghost, then he suddenly has baekhyun's number thanks to chanyeol. this isn't normal but he shouldn't freak out.

...but what if i just imagined him and he doesn't really exist? what if my mind is so fucked up i started hallucinating the events of the night? the thought dawned baekhyun's mind clouding every inch of it. taking a few deep breaths baekhyun walked into the house where he was bombarded by a smirking chanyeol.

"so did yixing text you yet?" he asked, his smirk widening. baekhyun sighed in relief. so he didn't imagine zhang yixing. he is real.

"why would you just give him my number like that?" baekhyun said, burying his relief. "what if he was a stalker and you just gave him my number and now he will follow me and bombared me all the time? are your dreams really more important than my safety?"

chanyeol looked offended. "hey it's not me who brought him here in the first place, dumbass! besides, a man that adorable would never be a stalker! he's too cute!"

"do you like him now? is that it? well i'm his fan, park chanyeol! i have a better chance of dating him than you!"

"who said anything about dating?! i don't want to date him the only person i want to date is jongin!" chanyeol quickly realised what he said and covered his mouth with both his hands. it would have been fine if the only person in the room was baekhyun, as he knew about chanyeol's little liking for jongin. unfortunately though, because of their screaming some of their friends decided to check out what was wrong. one of those people was kim jongin. baekhyun and chanyeol looked at him, like preys waiting for the attack of the predator. jongin looked taken aback, his body language stiff and guarded, looking at chanyeol with surprise all over his face. chanyeol still had his hands covering his mouth when jongin did what he did next.

slowly he walked over to the pair, who were backing up, their backs touching the wall, in fear of what jongin would do next. he then headed straight to changeol and--

"oh my god," baekhyun breathed as he saw what had happened. kim jongin kissed park chanyeol. with his lips. chanyeol looked like he was about to pass out. jongin smiled softly and slowly brought chanyeol's hands out of his mouth and kissed his cheek.

"you should've said something sooner you know," he winked then turning to baekhyun he said, "thanks for making him scream it to the whole house, hyung. i owe you one."

~

when four am arrived the only people who were awake was baekhyun, chanyeol, and junmyeon. baekhyun was writing and the other two were talking; about nothing but at the same time, everything. they were in baekhyun's work room, on the floor with crisps all around them. this was a normal night for the three of them and baekhyun was glad to have company while writing. baekhyun was tired, he was writing partly because when he wasn't writing his mind would go to thinking about yixing. but obviously, sleep overtook his whole body and he fell asleep seating up until chanyeol saw his state and decided to carry him to his bed to sleep.

~

when he woke up he next day, the whole house smelled like cinnamon and coffee. he stood up, the enticing smell pulling him to the kitchen where the rest of the members are. everyone was chatting mindlessly, although he saw chanyrol and jongin a little too close together. he smiled, sat next to junmyeon and grabbed himself a bite to eat and coffee. junmyeon looked happier now, smiling every now and then, talking, and even laughing. it felt nice to see him smile again because frankly, he missed seeing it.

baekhyun ate silently, his train of thought wandering to many thoughts at once before stopping at the image of yixing from last night. baekhyun tried quite hard to not think about yixing after he left last night, taking all his energy into writing instead but nowhebwas thr only thing in his mind. his dimpled smile anf his sad eyes, the secrets he has and his undying phrase that baekhyun seems to hear all the time now; "you remembered." the thing is, baekhyun doesn't remember. baekhyun feels like he's forgotten something but he has no idea what he's forgotten. foes it have something to do with his past life? or maybe something from his childhood? has he even forgotten something or is the feeling he's getting similar to when he thinks he's forgotten his keys only to hind it in his back pocket?

baekhyun heaved a sigh. he can't answer these questions by himself, he has to talk to someone about it. he looked around the table, looking for somebody to talk to: can he talk to kyungsoo about this? maybe not, he's only think he was crazy. jongdae and minseok are too busy with each other, so is chanyeol and jongin. so it's either junmyeon or sehun. he considered junmyeon to be the better option but he doesn't want to add more problems to the older man, but at the same time maybe his problem would be a distraction to junmyeon's own problem...he can't think like that though, because there's a possibility that that's not going to be the case. but he really wanted somebody to talk to because holy fuck the man that's been in his head for years now is actually real and he's not crazy.

then he realized who he should be talking to.

he quickly finished his breakfast, grabbed the cup of coffee and headed to his room. he grabbed his phone and was about to call yixing but then stopped himself. _i think messaging him would be more casual,_ he thought, so quickly typed what he wanted to say. but he couldn't get himself to send it. _wouldn't it be better to call him to make it more official?_ he asked himself.

_okay, i'll call him and this time i will call him._

and so he did. he waited for a moment before yixing picked up.

"hello, yixing" he said cheerfully.

"hello baekhyun, just to let you know, i am older than you," yixing replied back with a small chuckle by the end.

"o-oh okay then hyung," he said composing himself. "so um i'd really like to talk to you about what you said last night."

"about you remembering me?"

"yeah that, um, but i don't think doing it over thr phone is very good so um..."

"how about let's grab a drink tomorrow and i can properly introduce myself to you?"

"i--um--okay sure," baekhyun's cheeks were flushed with red, his skin felt hoy and he had a weird urge to scream.

"what time would you be more comfortable with?"

"maybe 7-8 pm would be an okay time," he replied.

"okay then, i'll pick you up then," yixing said, his voice kind and excited. "i'll see you then baekhyun, have a nice day!"

"have a nice day too!"

with that the conversation ended.

baekhyun couldn't help the excitement rising in his chest. not only was he going to finally understand the things he didn't get, he was also going to have a drink with a really cute guy.

one point for baekhyun.


	5. five ;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! sorry this chapter took so long, i had a bit of a creative block :/ hope you enjoy tho!! leave a kudos or a comment if you'd like, thank you girlies~~

_it's just drinks,_ baekhyun reminded himself as he tried on a different top after finding the first one disgusting. _it's just yixing._ he thought as he felt his heart beating quickly at the thought of drinks with zhang yixing.

he reminded himself that _just yixing_ is a ceo of an entertainment studio in south korea and china, along with the fact that he is the man he's seen at the back of his mind for years. also he drop dead gorgeous, but that's just a bonus. of course, there is still a part of baekhyun who doubts yixing; a part of him that doesn't want to believe what he hasn't heard. yet baekhyun is too curious for his own good.

baekhyun took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. he was wearing black ripped jeans, paired with a black shirt and long navy blue coat. casual enough but still formal. he wanted to let his orange hair down but then decided to style it. it was now filled with wax to keep it standing up. he also decided to wear specs just to make him look more professional. with one last look at his attempt to look good, he left his room to the living room where jongin and chanyeol are. they were speaking with each other both smiling and laughing. baekhyun felt a sense of happiness for the both of them, especially chanyeol. the man has been fawning over jongin for nearly two years, it was a shock jongin didn't notice until yesterday. _yes my friends, let your gay rise,_ baekhyun thought while looking at them fondly. the two stopped talking and looked at him, dumbfounded and blushing.

"let your gay rise? what kind of sentence is that?" chanyeol said, throwing a pillow at baekhyun, hitting him on the stomach.

"my gay has risen long ago, hyung," jongin said, giggling slightly. "i don't think it can rise more."

"d-did i say that out loud?" baekhyun said, his cheeks flushing loudly.

"yes," both of them said, baekhyun sighed and sat next to them.

"don't worry about it though," said chanyeol, "besides--you're going to let your gay rise too buddy."

"it's not a date!" baekhyun said, his voice rising defensively, cheeks flushing more.

"what is it then?" jongin asked, placing his head on chanyeol's chest and chanyeol wrapped his arm around the younger.

"i just--you know--i just want to talk to him," baekhyun whispered, what else can he say? will he say he wanted to talk to yixing because he's been seeing him in his dreams and mind for years? he would sound fucking crazy, better to make them think he's a slightly creepy fan.

chanyeol was about to say something when baekhyun's phone suddenly rang. he looked at the caller and--as he expected it was yixing. he picked it up and began to speak.

"hyung?" baekhyun asked through the phone.

"hello, baekhyun," yixing's voice rang in baekhyun's ear, sending a wave of excitement through the younger one. "i'm outside your house now."

"oh! okay, i'll be right out!" baekhyun hung up the phone and said goodbye to his friends and ran out of his house, opening the gate and seeing yixing's car in front. yixing got out his car, and baekhyun nearly lost his footing.

he was wearing a long sleeved white button up and underneath a long sleeved mustard yellow turtle neck. he paired that with black slacks and black shoes. he had his hair down, parting it in the middle which gave baekhyun more skin to adore.

_he's so flawless holy mother of fu_ \- baekhyun thought before trying to compose himself.

"hello," he said, smiling at baekhyun with his dimpled smile.

"hello, shall we go now?" baekhyun said, trying to level out his voice.

~

the car ride to the cafe was silent. not the same kind of silence they had the first time hey met though, this one was comfortable, serene, secure. yixing was humming a tune and baekhyun stared straight ahead. there was no music except for the humming from yixing which gave baekhyun a sense of familiarity. has he heard that before? maybe he has, though he couldn't pinpoint where.

as the ride ended, yixing parked the car in front of the cafe and got out. baekhyun unlocked his seatbelt and was about to open the car door when yixing opened it for him.

he got out, thanking yixing silently and together they walked inside.

the cafe was relatively empty, only a couple of people with laptops in front of their faces, reminding baekhyun of when he used to stay at 24 hour cafes while writing his first novels. it was lighted by fluoresent lights, the cafe itself was furnished with white furniture to give it a minimalistic style. this would be a perfect place to write, baekhyun thought as they sat at the very corner of the room.

"do like it here?" yixing asked as baekhyun sat down, he looked at the older man who was smiling at him kindly. baekhyun nodded, smiling back at him.

"it's the perfect place for writers and thinkers," baekhyun replied. yixing nodded in agreement. "i always find that minimalism helps me in painting the world how i like it in my writings."

"it does give more room for imagination," yixing said, standing up. "what would you like to have? would you like to have some food as well? it is quite late."

"i'll order with you, since i dont really know the food here," baekhyun stood up and they both walked to the counter to order their food.

~

"so, what would you like to know?" yixing asked as he finished his cinnamon bun. he placed his fork and knife and looked at baekhyun with a soft gaze and a small smile. most people would think nothing of it, but baekhyun was not like most people. he had learned to read people based on their actions and their way of hiding things. for example, the gaze yixing gave him was more than just an innocent look that he is apparently known for (okay, baekhyun researched a lot about zhang yixing and found quite a lot of information but that's not the point) his gaze also held a weight of sadness. a small amount of ... fear? nervousness? and his smile would quiver every now and then when he thought baekhyun wasn't looking.

baekhyun stared at him and placed his fork down, half uneaten cheesecake left forgotten as baekhyun took a deep breath to start the questions he wanted answered.

"you seem to know me somehow," baekhyun worded himself carefully, he's a writer, words were his forte. "the last time we saw each other before you unexplainably disappeared, which, by the way, we still have to talk about, you said 'i don't think you remember me.' what did you mean exactly? am i suppose to remember you? are we connected somehow? how?"

"would you like me to explain the car thing first or our relationship?" yixing said, leaning back and making himself look comfortable. he isn't though, baekhyun thought looking at his stiff shoulders, his arms wrapped around his body acting like a shield.

"do whatever you can to make me understand, hyung," baekhyun said, following his way of seating, a daring look present in his face. yixing gave his soft smile and his sad eyes and took a deep breath.

he flicked his hand away from them lazily, not taking his eyes of baekhyun. baekhyun looked to where his fingers were pointing and to his absolute horror found that everyone in the room had frozen. not just everyone---everything had frozen. the writers and students had their hands frozen on top of their keyboards and books, liquids were unmoving, in midair, about to be engulfed, or spilled. even the dust around them seemed to stop. time itself seemed to stop. at the flick of a hand. yixing's hand. baekhyun looked at yixing with a sense of fear and curiousity. his gaze was still focused on baekhyun, his sad eyes mixed with nervousness.

it took a couple of seconds before either of them spoke again.

"what are you?" baekhyun whispered, their gaze was unbroken, the intensity was too much to handle yet intoxicating.

"i am a warlock," yixing answered carefully. time was still unmoving. "i've been living since the sui dynasty, and i have seen you, byun baekhyun, reincarnated twice and in both of those lives i am a big part of it. i wish to be a part of this life too."

baekhyun was speechless. how would one respond to that? baekhyun can't say it's all fake though, for this is real. he's seen it with his own eyes. saying everything is fake simply because he doesn't want to believe it exists would make him like those unbelievers ans skeptics he hates with a passion.

"please say something," yixing said, moving closer to baekhyun, his elbows resting on the table, his eyes still connected to baekhyun's. "anything."

"did i--" baekhyun cleared his throat to make his voice louder, "did i remember you in my second life?"

"you did," yixing smiled. his smile mirrored his eyes; sad and helpless, as if he wanted to go back in time. "i'm not certain about reincarnation since i am immortal, but you told me in that life that the deity let you keep your memories from your first life, all of the deaths, the pain, me; you remebered it all."

"how did we meet exactly? in both lives?" baekhyun asked, his heart thumping loudly, he feared yixing heard it. "how did we reunite?"

"in your first life, i saved you in the middle of a battle," yixing said, finally breaking eye contact to reminise. "i took you to a meadow and introduced myself to you, you were quite welcoming."

"...in a meadow? during a battle?" baekhyun whispered.

"yes, do you remember anything?" it was clear that yixing couldn't contain the hope he was feeling for it was evident as he spoke.

"i-... continue your story," baekhyun said, looking down and trying to calm his nerves. yixing huffed disapointedly but continued his story.

"when we reunited in the second life, you were running away from japanese soldiers and found yourself in a dark and narrow street where i saw you," yixing continued, "i remember how you ran up to me and hugged me, telling me you were glad that i waited for you and i told you that i was glad you remembered me."

"the japanese invasion?" baekhyun said in disbelief. everything yixing said was the same to what he had written from his dreams. the way yixing saved his life in the joseon era, or how yixing welcomed him with open arms during the japanese invasion.

"you remember those moments?" yixing said, hope and disbelief knitted in his voice.

"i--i do," baekhyun said, he felt as if his head was growing in size, growing heavier and heavier as they kept talking about what baekhyun wanted to know. "but they come in dreams...i only ever knew your name because of the dream of us reuniting in my second life...i can't belie--"

"do you want to know them all?" yixing said excitingly, his eyes glissening with hope and for the first time, no hint of sadness. "i can pass those memories if you wan--"

"why would i want to do that?" baekhyun snapped, probably harsher than he intended. he saw the glimmer in yixing's eyes disappear slowly, being replaced with a hurt expression. all in all, it made him look like a puppy kicked by its owner.

"yo--you don't want to?" yixing's voice cracked with pain as he slumped back down to his seat. baekhyun wanted to hit himself with an axe.

"it's not that i don't want to, hyung," baekhyun said standing up and walking towards yixing, kneeling by his side. "i don't think i can handle two lifetimes' worth of memories. especially from eras with so much death. i think i would go insane."

yixing looked at him sorrowfully.

"i understand, baekhyun," he said, then he laughed a dry laugh. "of course i would understand not wanting to remember every single person i have ever loved and how they eventually left me."

yixing stood up, his face showing no emotion, he helped baekhyun stand up and together they walked out of the cafe. before the door closed yixing flicked his hand once again and all life seemed to come back to everything. time seemed to move again as baekhyun opened the door to yixing's car, the city's noise left outside as he closed it. yixing started the car and they headed to baekhyun's home.

with silence filling the car.

this time, with not humming coming from the sad and hopeless man.

~


	6. six ;

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a blossoming of two people's relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi~~ 
> 
> i know it's been almost a month since i updated but i hope you're still intrigued! i suffer slumps every time i finish a chapter so it's kind of hard to update with a slump,,, anyway my school starts soon so it might take extra long to update or it might make things easier as i writer better when i'm procrastinating hehe,, but we'll see; for now enjoy chapter six!

yixing stopped the car once they reached baekhyun's house. he got out and opened baekhyun's door for him, not looking at the younger one in the eye, his lips carving a frown. he was too tired and too grieved to smile for him tonight. during the car ride he could see baekhyun trying to speak to him, his mouth opening yet he never heard a word come out.

he thought about what beakhyun said to him. in a way, he did understand where baekhyun was coming from; two lifetimes worth of death was enough to make anyone suffer. yixing knew that more than anyone. still, yixing wanted to be with baekhyun. to touch him and be with him and love him with baekhyun loving him back. remembering him would be the best way for that to happen.

"thank you, hyung," whispered baekhyun as they entered the gates.

"it's nothing," yixing said, trying to give a small smile. "i'm going now, have a lovely night."

"hyung wait," baekhyun stopped him, and yixing did. for a few seconds they stayed like that: yixing looking down at his feet, baekyun trying to find the words to say. finally, yixing couldn’t stand the silence.

“i’m going now, if you don’t have anything else to say,” yixing started walking again, his head down, his hands shaking.

“hyung please,” baekhyun said, his hand finding yixing’s wrist, stopping his tracks. “i just…me saying i don’t want to remember all those memories from my past lives does not mean i don’t want you. i don’t care about the past, i don’t want to feel attached to you because of two past reincarnations, i want it to happen with only experiencing you in this life, since it is the life i’m living right now.”

yixing had no words to say. what can he say to that? baekhyun makes perfect sense. what’s the point of remembering past memories and past lives when the both of them can simply make new ones? but yixing felt selfish. he doesn’t know why. maybe it’s because he is tired of always being left alone, when everyone else leaves. and baekhyun remembering his past life was a way he could relate to yixing, to relate to remembering the people you once knew, their smiles and the sparkle in their eyes engulfing your every thought giving you a moment of happiness before you remind yourself that you won’t ever see that in real life anymore, they’ve gone away and they will never come back to you. it’s so much more painful to think about when you’re immortal. yixing has always told himself to not think about those people, but once in a while they creep in his head and the overwhelming loneliness makes him feel so alone.

“baekhyun,” yixing finally looked at him, his eyes scanning the younger man’s face trying to swallow the lump of sadness in his throat. “i understand, i just—feel like the only way we can be together was if you knew what we had, and i know that its incredibly selfish of me to think that but i—i don’t feel like you would—“

“—love you without those memories from my past life?” baekhyun answered, finishing the statement he so dreaded to say. “hyung, i may not remember my past lives, but i remembered you. maybe not your name or your significance in my life, but every time your face would pop up i felt a certain longing and attachment to you, i longed for your touch and embrace because somehow i knew that you’re meant to be part of my life. now, i don’t want to live in those memories from my two previous lives, or from the feeling i have felt since the first time i have seen you in my mind, i want to know you, and i want to make the feelings i’m already feeling feel justified. i don’t want to see you as a memory, and love you as such, i want to love you as a person who is right here, in front of me, in modern clothes, not in the joseon era or the japanese inavation, or as an idea inside my head. i want you.”

yixing hadn’t thought of doing it, his subconscious was still shocked by the words he had heard, that somehow, baekhyun does feel the same way, and that he doesn’t need the past for baekhyun to love him back, his movements were quick and blurred and in a second he had baekhyun pinned against the locked gates of his house and their faces were so close yixing’s vision was getting blurry, and he kissed him. their lips moved in harmony, yixing expressing everything he wanted to say but couldn’t, his left hand on baekhyun’s waist and the other resting on the gate. baekhyun had his wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer than he already was.

yixing didn’t even hear the gates opening until it was too late.

as the gates opened, both of them nearly fell to the ground if not for two pairs of hands grabbing them. once both men were balanced they looked up to see two smirking men in front of them.

"i thought you said you weren't going to let your gay rise tonight, baekhyunnie," teased the taller one, which yixing remembered to be chanyeol. baekhyun was about to respond when jongin interrupted him.

"to be honest though, i understand why hyung can't help himself," he said, then looking at yixing he grinned, saying "you are quite handsome, mr. zhang."

"jongin-ah are you going to leave me for a rich and famous ceo?" chanyeol pounted jokingly. "what does he have that i don't?"

"money and fame," jongin said, his smile cheeky and his tone playful. yixing had to laugh at their relationship.

chanyeol pouted even more and was about to say something when baekhyun cut him off.

"hey! you have your own man, kim jongin!" baekhyun said jokingly, "it's not my fault your man isn't rich or famous."

"is it diss chanyeol day?!" chanyeol exclaimed, he then looked at yixing, "do you have something shit to say about me too?"

yixing laughed softly and said, "i don't haveanything mean to say, frankly, you're quite cute."

chanyeol blushed loudly. and the three men around him laughed at him trying to cover it.

"hey, yixing hyung," jongin said when the laughter died down, "why don't you come inside? junmyeon hyung needs a friend and chanyeolie and i are going out."

"besides," baekhyun added, looking at yixing with puppy eyes, "we have so much to talk about."

without much thought, yixing said yes. it's not like he was going to do anything anyway, but he mostly said yes because baekhyun's soft lips wouldn't leave his mind and he'd rather be near it that think about it all night.

~

the two men walked inside the house, their senses filled with burning scent coming from the kitchen. they looked at each other and immediately ran to to where the smell of burning came from. in the kitchen, among the thick smoke coming out of the oven was kim junmyeon, coughing while holding a tray of burnt cookies. his other hand was trying to fan the smoke the oven was giving out, his eyes squinting, his whole face dirty. baekhyun ran to him right away.

“hyung!” exclaimed baekhyun as he pulled the man out of the kitchen and to the dining room. he stopped only to look at yixing pleadingly, saying “can you please do something about the mess?”

baekhyun didn’t wait for yixing’s response as he dragged junmyeon out.

yixing did as he was told. it didn’t really take him long to clear the smoke and clean up the mess as he only had to flick his hand to set it straight without much work. he did wait in the kitchen for a few minutes to not raise suspicion on junmyeon’s behalf. it gave him time to think about what baekhyun said to him. byun baekhyun was actually willing to give yixing a chance. not as somebody who saved him during the joseon era, or his fellow comrade during the japanese rule, but as zhang yixing, a man who he met at a grocery store, a ceo and an artist. to be frank with himself, he feels like he would enjoy this lifetime with baekhyun more. there was no war or revolution to make them fear or look behind their soldiers and be distrustful to everyone in fear of getting caught by enemies. this lifetime would be normal—domestic. they could buy a dog, and have nights where it would just be them talking about their interests and their fears and thoughts and ideas while drinking tea and listening to soft ballads. work would be less awful and stressful when baekhyun will suddenly surprise him with a visit. they had a whole lifetime ahead of them to do it.

and it better be memorable, so when he looks back on it, long after the final page of their story has been told, yixing would smile, because the memory of being with byun baekhyun is better than never being with him at all.

after two lifetimes with him and after all the people he’s had in his life, he was wise enough to know that.

yixing smiled, sighing contently before heading to the dining room. there he saw baekhyun scolding junmyeon, while junmyeon stared at the tray of burnt cookies like a hurt puppy.

“—why did you bake anyway?” baekhyun asked, heaving an exasperated sigh while looking at his hyung.

“i thought it would make me feel better and forget about him but then i remembered that the reason why i learnt how to cook and bake in the first place was because yifan taught me how to cook and bake,” junmyeon whispered, still keeping his eyes set on the burnt cookies. “i’m sorry, baekhyunnie.”

baekhyun looked dumbfounded. he was opening his mouth then closing it, his eyes filled with concern. yixing, seeing his discomfort, stepped up to talk to junmyeon.

“uh…how about finding a new hobby?” yixing asked junmyeon, surprising not only the elder but also the younger. “something that won’t have any attachment to your ex, or if it does, something that will bring out the happy memories you have together.”

yixing walked over to where the two men were and sat in front of junmyeon.

“i know that carrying the memories of loving someone who isn’t in your life anymore can be hard but isn’t it a good thing?” yixing said, looking at junmyeon with a smile.

“why?” junmyeon asked, though he looked like he already knew the answer.

“because at least you got to be with them, at least once. at least you got to love and feel loved,” yixing explained, “don’t you think so?”

slowly, junmyeon nodded, the amount of sadness in his eyes lessening. he stood up and smiled at yixing gratefully. he then looked at baekhyun and kissed the man forehead, whispering a soft, “i’m sorry.” baekhyun shook his head.

“you have nothing to be sorry for, hyung.” baekhyun said, taking the older man for a hug. “you’re allowed to feel these feelings and i will be here to help you until you’ve moved on.”

“thank you, baekhyun,” junmyeon said, hugging him back. the pair stayed like that for awhile, before being interrupted by a loud thud on the window. in front of them. they broke the hug, and the three men stared at the window in front of the dining room. personally, it reminded yixing of windows in churches. tall and tinted, he imagined sunlight hitting it as it rose lighting the whole room and giving it an almost magical feeling.

baekhyun slowly walked over to the windowsill, opening it slowly to check where the noise came from. baekhyun shined his phone to check it and his hand disappeared to retrieve something from outside the window. once he got a hold of it, baekhyun closed the window and placed the object at the table. it was a stone, about the same size as yixing’s fist, with a piece of paper tied around it. baekhyun untied the string and unwrapped the paper from the stone. he flattened the paper on the table for all three men to read; inside, it says:

**_“the creepiest thing about a man in a mask, a dark street, and an untraceable letter is the fear it sets to the person at the receiving end of any of it.”_ **

baekhyun nearly lost his footing if not for yixing’s arms already wrapped around his waist. junmyeon quickly moved to console the younger fellow.

“baek, sit down,” junmyeon said, his voice soft and commanding. with the help of yixing, baekhyun sat down to where junmyeon used to sit, as junmyeon went to the kitchen to grab baekhyun some water. meanwhile, yixing, on the other hand, sat next to baekhyun and had his arms wrapped around him as he tried to calm himself down.

  
“do you have any idea of who might want to send something like this?” yixing asked, his voice soft. baekhyun nodded, and looked at yixing with a hint of fear in his eyes.

“i have a staker,” baekhyun whispered, “it’s partly the reason why i had a slump.”

“a stalker?” yixing said, his voice full of concern, “did you tell the police? or anybody?”

“i told junmyeon and chanyeol, but that’s it,” he said, “i thought that if i ignored them, they would go away and they did, for about a month…but i guess they’re back.”

“baekhyun this is serious, you should call up the police, get some more security here,” yixing argued, concern was filling his gut by the second.

“i know i should…i just…i feel like if i treated them seriously they would get more confident, you know?” baekhyun said, “please don’t spread this, i don’t want it blown out of proportion.”

yixing thought hard about what he would say. he wants to take it to the officials so they can find out who the stalker was but he doesn’t want to go against baekhyun’s wishes. besides, he wasn’t even in a relationship with baekhyun yet, so he had no say in this, a much as he wants to. so, he nodded, giving in to baekhyun’s request.

“thank you, hyung.”

~

the rest of the night, junmyeon left them alone.

so, they mostly talked about the universe. baekhyun also liked asking him about the story of his childhood, and though his childhood was quite fuzzy as it did happen centuries ago, yixing tried to tell him his childhood as best as he can. he told him about his life during the sui dynasty, though most of it are quite boring, baekhyun listened to him with an utmost curiosity.

“why are you an immortal?” baekhyun asked.

“warlocks are created when a demon and a human have a physical relationship,” yixing said, though he found the subject of how he was born to be quite awkward.

“you mean when they have sex?” baekhyun asked, smirking at him. yixing nodded. “why would anyone want to fuck a demon though? or maybe it’s because the demon looked human. am i right?”

“yeah, you’re right,” yixing said, smiling at him as he saw baekhyun light up.

“yay,” baekhyun said clapping his hands lightly, “a point for baekhyun.”

“how about you?” yixing asked, “what was your childhood like?”

baekhyun snorted. “oh you know, filled with abandonment and trust issues. but of course, with the help of my friends, i eventually got over my fear of being abandoned.”

“may i ask why?” yixing said, a bit weary on whether or not baekhyun would be comfortable answering the question. but baekhyun only nodded as he proceeded to tell his story.

“my dad died when i was very young and i only had my mom,” baekhyun said, his tone changing from being happy to trying to suppress sadness. “then my mom left me too and dropped me off to live with the parks.”

“why’d she leave?”

“she found a new family to love and care for,” baekhyun said bitterly before smiling at yixing. “it’s fine though, i found a family of my own.”

“i’m glad,”

as they silently looked at baekhyun’s ceiling, their bodies lying together on baekhyun’s soft mattress, arms, almost touching, yixing found the thing he’d been craving for for nearly a hundred years; time with baekhyun.

yixing closed his eyes, his lips in a small smile, his whole body contented. when he opened them again, looking at his side he saw baekhyun looking at him a small smile creeping onto his lips.

“what?” asked yixing, as he rested in his side to see baekhyun clearly. baekhyun’s smile only widened.

“nothing,” baekhyun said, “i’m just happy.”

~

 


	7. seven ;

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it'a been a month since they started dating, and baekhyun thought nothing could ever ruin his mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohmygosh hello everyone!!!!! its literally been a year since i last posted an update for this story :o im so so sorry for making you wait so long! but i'm back now! i will update as much as i can!! please also look forward to a new book im going to publish which is about homin!

nothing could've ruined baekhyun's mood.   
  
yixing and baekhyun have been dating for a month, and it was an absolute bliss. baekhyun has never been this happy in a relationship. he's never giggled just at the thought of the man he was dating, or smile to himself whenever he sees an item that reminds him of the man. yixing treated him so well; he made baekhyun breakfast, he spoiled him with clothes and first editon copied of his favorite novels, and he even wrote baekhyun a song. not only that but being with yixing alone has made baekhyun so inspired that he finished the draft in the given time allotted by his company, something he never thought would happen.   
  
nothing could've ruined baekhyun's mood.  
  
except maybe a picture of him with blood all over it.   
  
he received it on the morning of their monthsary. it was wrapped in manila paper, with a string and as he tore to it he saw his picture, with "X" marks on his eyes and a message saying "watch out" in dark red paint...or blood, baekhyun wasn't too sure. it was his stalker again, desperately ruining baekhyun's mood. he tried to not let his emotions spill but he couldn't help it. with shaking hands he tore the massive picture and threw it all over his work room. groaning with frustration and sitting on the couch, covering his face.  
  
all he wanted to do was write. even as a child, when his father died, the only way he coped was through writing his feelings on a piece of paper. when his mother left him to care for her new, richer family, he wrote pages upon pages of poetry that came from his broken heart. he turned his emotional hobby into something worth being proud of; he wrote books with hundreds of pages; about love, family, friendship, fear, longing, themes carefully placed in a fiction novel. he got lucky. mrs. park pushed him into showing his work to an editorial company, blue dragon, the one he's working for until now, and they approved it. the book became a hit. "burning" became the book that propelled him from a broken and abandoned boy to a world renowned author. all of that was swell for baekhyun, he continued expressing himself through his novels and people continued reading it, and even though he thought he would lose that high status soon enough, the day hasn't come. it's been eight years and yet people seem to still love what he has written.   
  
but fame comes with a price. it brought stress to his hobby; so much of it that it brought baekhyun a slump and thought about quitting. but stress wasn't the only thing that caused him to almost quit, fame came with a stalker. a stalker that has scared baekhyun more than he could ever admit to anyone, or himself. even before he incident last month, with the rock thrown at his window, he had other threats like that for the past year, starting in february. threats every week, scheduled and creepy, with disturbing messages and horrifying dolls. junmyeon and chanyeol advised him multiple times to report it but baekhyun argued that there was no way the police could track the sender anyway. but really he just didn't want to make it a bigger deal; he didn't want any bad press, and more importantly he didn't want to make it real real.   
  
chanyeol and junmyeon were incredibly against the idea, but let baekhyun do what he thought was right. he appreciated it but he hit by what junmyeon had to say, "i want to report because i don't want to see you dead some time in the future, but i guess you don't care enough about yourself."  
  
all the stress and the worry left him in a slump. he found no inspiration to do his work and in the first 2 months junmyeon was there to make him feel better but soon enough junmyeon himself was gulped in his own sadness, and in the end he went through it alone, not seeking the help of his best friend, chanyeol, who he knew was needed more by the older fellow.   
  
but it stopped. at the beginning of summer it all stopped. almost five months of horrifying packages and it suddenly stopped. but his slump didn't. it wasn't until that dream about yixing a month later brought him out of his nightmare and he was able to write again. then he met yixing, the man he learned to love through his past feelings for the sad man and the feelings he gained in this life.   
  
he felt happy again, until his happiness was stumped by a rock a piece of note. but it didn't matter at that time, because he had yixing, and he had junmyeon, and chanyeol, and all his friends, and he was writing again. he wasn't going to let this sick son of a bitch ruin him emotionally again.   
  
he decided the best way to get rid of the stalker was to finally do what his friends and boyfriend have been urging him to do; report the psycho.  
  
~   
  
he was sitting on a dingy police office, the fluorescent lights bright, making the room seem dirtier than it already is. baekhyun was sitting on an uncomfortable stool, recalling all the details of his mysterious stalker and all the deeds they've done these past couple of months. he brought all the creepy dolls and the notes, even the rock, and the ripped up picture of him that he got just this morning.   
  
"why are you only reporting this now?" the detective, who seemed to be disinterested with the problem baekhyun had, asked. it took all of baekhyun's willpower not to roll his eyes, _"so this is the peek of our justice system,"_ he thought as he swallowed the contempt in his throat.  
  
"i didn't think much of it," baekhyun sighed, staring at the white walls across him which, looked newly painted, as if to hide a dirty old paint job. "i thought it was nothing to worry about."  
  
"you thought someone throwing a rock at you window with a creepy note attached to it was nothing to worry about?" the detective sneered, his voice reaking sarcasm.   
  
"yes,"   
  
"alright then, mr. byun," said the detective sighing nonchalantly, "fill up this report and then you can go, we'll keep these evidences, and if you ever receive one again...give us a call i guess."  
  
"thank you detective," he said as he started to fill out the report. the detective left his chair and he was left alone, with a heavy feeling of being watched. he tried not to think about it much but he couldn't help but sweat a little from nervousness, so he quickly finished writing and got out of the seat, greeting the detective, who was chatting with another detective near the exit, goodbye and leaving as fast as he could.   
  
baekhyun breathed in the air of seoul, before coughing a bit and putting on his mask. it was incredibly humid today, as the summer sun and weather brought moist feeling and sweat to the entirety of the city. he walked home, feeling more relaxed than he did at the station, and when he got home, he was greeted by a smiling chanyeol.  
  
"how was the police station?" he asked as baekhyun sat next to him on the couch.   
  
"i was reminded of how below average our justice system is, so that's always fun," baekhyun said covering his eyes with his left arm. "but i kinda got the feeling that someone was watching me there, it was freaky."  
  
"that sucks man, i'm sorry," chanyeol said apologetically. "but i'm glad you filed a report. a baby step closer to catching that sick son a bitch right?"   
  
"yeah you're right." baekhyun sighed, and they were quiet for a few seconds before baekhyun stood up again. "i have to prepare for a dinner date."  
  
chanyeol's eyes followed him as he made his way up his room, "what does rich man yixing have planned for his baby boy?" teased the taller man.  
  
"shut up yeol," baekhyun called out. "what makes you think he's the top in our relationship? he's my baby boy. and he wanted us to have dinner in this real fancy restaurant that i can't even pronounce."   
  
"oooh you're so lucky baek baby," chanyeol cooed. "well have fun, i'm going out to see jongin."  
  
"see you, yeol!"   
  
"the chan chan man is out!" chanyeol yelled as he slammed the door shut. baekhyun laughed at his best friend, _the chan chan man? god, chanyeol is an idiot._  
  
~  
  
baekhyun was sitting across his beautiful boyfriend at a fancy restaurant. they were both wearing suits; yixing, a man who didn't like standing out, wore a simple suit, with a white button up and navy blue trousers and blazer, he had a decorative pin on the left side of his blazer and he was wearing quite an expensive watch. his hair was done up, showing his smooth forehead. baekhyun on the other hand wore a black button up and trousers, and wore a white blazer with black embroidery on the side. it was also topped with white lace stitched below the blazer, to make it look more like a coat. he had his hair down and curly, giving him a wavy fringe which, was now colored black, which he changed a few weeks back.   
  
"we look quite dashing, dear," baekhyun said smirking at his loved one. yixing smiled slightly at him, the eyes that used to show sadness now bore a happy sparkle.  
  
"nobody could ever look as dashing as you, not even me, baek," yixing said and baekhyun's heart fluttered. he blushed deeply and bowed his head to cover it up but yixing simply laughed cheekily.  
  
"don't cover up your face baby boy," yixing teased, "your face is too beautiful to cover up."  
  
_and i told chanyeol i was the top, when he makes me turn to mush with just his words,_ baekhyun thought stupidly as he looked up at yixing smiling with his dimple showing. baekhyun smiled too, and felt contented with what he had in front of him:  
  
  
the boy of his dreams.   
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all! this idea has been in my head for days now since i started watching chicago typewriter so if you do see some similarities between chicago typewriter/goblin with this it's because that's where i got the inspiration.


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